Tag Archives: Glossary Entry #13

Glossary

SERENADING

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Serenading (What You Pawn I Will Redeem)
noun
Pronunciation: se-re-nay-ding

-A love song that is sung or played outdoors at night for a woman.
-A complimentary vocal of instrumental performance.
-An instrumental composition in several movements, written for a small ensemble, and midway between the suite and the symphony in style.

Context: “As Irene and I sat at the table and laughed and drank more whiskey, Honey Boy danced a slow circle around us and sang along with Willie. Are you serenading me? I asked him.”

Source: http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/serenade

 

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Glossary

Privy

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Privy (noun): 1 a: a small building having a bench with holes through which the user may defecate or urinate; b: toilet; (Merriam-Webster)

Found on Page 61, paragraph 2 of Beloved–>“She hoped Paul D wouldn’t take it upon himself to come looking for her and be obliged to see her squatting in front of her own privy making a mudhole too deep to be witnessed without shame.”

I believe this word in the quote means that Sethe did not want Paul D to witness her urinating heavily in the outhouse.

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